On Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 4:04:44 PM UTC-5, Henk Meuzelaar wrote:

Richard,
Don't be discouraged by the previous answers. The problem is that you apparently don't know enough yet to formulate the right question that
will help you get the proper answer. Just think of Usenet as a giant
search engine. The quality of the search terms you enter is directly
related to the quality of the answers you get. In IT jargon: GIGO
(garbage in garbage out).
Few experienced cruisers would dare to answer your question without
first finding out what kind of offshore cruising you do have in mind:
(a) sailing inside the tradewind belts (outside the hurricane season);
(2) all-season, all-weather sailing in the variables; or (3)
high-latitude sailing above 50 or 60 degrees (e.g. rounding Cape
Horn).
Unless you do have a cool half million $$ or more to spend you are
unlikely to find a vessel that is equally at home in all three of
these zones by combining superior strength with light weight and
upwind capability though the use of high-tech materials and
composites. It is certainly true that a conventionally built heavy
vessel strong enough to withstand the rigors of high-altitude sailing
should be able to sail anywhere in the world. The flipside of the coin
is, however, that we see the limitations of such vessels here in the
South Pacific Tradewind belt where the South Easters typically blow at
15-30 knots (accompanied by heavy swells because of the long fetch).
This forces the heavy vessels to stay in sheltered anchorages until
the occasional depression blows through, thereby temporarily changing
the wind direction, or to try and motor from anchorage to anchorage
during the wee hours of the night when the Trades often calm down a
bit.
Properly rigged and handled your Beneteau will be able to sail circles
about most of the heavy, full-keeled vessels on upwind courses
(assuming that they are outh there sailing upwind at all, even with
the help of big auxiliary engines). In fact, with proper preparation
your Beneteau could well be the best vessel for off-shore sailing
there.
However, you might say, how do I get back East without going to the
higher latitudes? Is my Beneteau built for the classical return via
New Zealand (in the S. Pacific) or over the Pacific High back to the
North American mainland? In my mind, the blanket answer should be
"probably NOT; even though many have successfully done it". The point
is, however, that you will just have to stop thinking like a square
rigger of yore and ignore the dated cruising guides of Bruce Van't
Sant or even Jimmy Cornell. Your Beneteau (or Jeanneau, or Hunter or
Catalina or Dufour or J-boat) can simply sail back against the Trades
while staying within the Trade belt. OK, you may have to sit out the
30-35 knot days, but there is nothing wrong with the 20-25 knot ones (depending on seastate, of course).
In fact, time and again, your biggest challenges will come when you
are sailing up or down the East or West Coast of the US or Canada.
THEN you do have to pick your way gingerly and with a weather eye for
what is coming down the pike in a few days. Not to mention the
traffic, lee shores, harbor bars etc. which tend to make coastal
sailing in the variable latitudes in a lightly built vessel far more demanding and hazardous than cruising in the tropics.
The long and the short of it is: go ahead and buy your Beneteau (if
she is properly maintained), then equip her and yourself till you are
ready to do some coastal sailing. If you can handle that at your own latitude, you are ready to sail South till you are getting close to
the Tropics and make your break for the bluewater cruising grounds of
your dreams. If -- by then -- your dreams lie in the higher latitudes
you will probably want to switch to a heavier built vessel.
Success!
Flying Dutchman
"Rivendel II" (Hunter Legend 43, hull #1)
Port Vila, Vanuatu
"Richard Dube" <richar...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message news:<Qs%Z9.436$Xf7....@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca>...

I'm thinking of purchasing the new Beneteau 423 and I plan to do considerable off shore curising. I would appreciate anyone opinion on the boat

Thanks Richard

What at fantastically thoughtful and considerate posting. VERY helpful to anyone wanting to read, think and perhaps learn.

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